A little girl and the best way to heaven

What was the most unexpected speech you have ever heard in your life? Last Thursday during our Beach-ministry trip something happened that I was really astonished about. Greg and I were talking to a group of Haitians. They were open to speaking about their faith. We asked them: “What do you think is the best way to get into heaven?” Before we ask this, they explained us that they probably are going to hell and nothing will change that. So it made sense to ask them this question about heaven. They gave us some good Christian answers like: “Well, you have to go every Sunday to church… and of course to read the bible.” I wanted to start carefully with some thoughts about the gospel, but in this moment a little, six years old girl with black dreadlocks appeared out of nowhere. With a loud challenging voice she asked: “You don`t know how to get into Heaven. It`s easy. You have to accept Jesus Christ in your heart.” A few seconds of silence. Everybody was speechless. Then the one guy started to make a little bit fun of her. “How do you know that?” The girl looked in his eyes and continued with this voice sounding like an adult: “I know that from my grandma. She`s a good person. She feeds me, plays with me, cares for me … and if you don`t accept Jesus you are going to hell.” Right in this moment she left. Greg and me were sitting with open mouth. Just able to add: “She is totally right.” The two guys gave their lives to Jesus on this afternoon. I learned two things: First, it is not only a theoretical possibility that God can interrupt a conversation and speak directly into a situation. Second, do not ignore little girls, sometimes they have something important to say.

Beach, Ocean & Party mixed with good news

“Hey, how are you doing? Oh, you are doing good. I`m coming from the University of Deleware and I would like to talk with you about spiritual issues. Are you interested in talking for a couple of minutes?” That`s a typical conversation I had over and over last week. You think that´s sounds a little bit weird. Not in Daytona. During the spring break there are a lot of people who are going there to party or just relax. But that is not a hinderance for the gospel. Before I came I was skeptical about how it would work to talk in this direct way to people or that I could experience people wanting to listen to the saving message of Jesus Christ (I will tell a story in my next Post). Sure some were against this conversations and answered: “No, my belief is private and I want to find my own spiritual way”. But in total here are some numbers from my last week: From maybe 25 Conversation – 20 people were open to talk about the love God, Jesus, human conditions and why should God let us into heaven. I think this is amazing and it motivates me to learn how to explain the gospel in simple ways. It feels comfortable to have some good tools to illustrate my faith and show the people key points of Jesus. After this week I ask myself is it just possible talk about the gospel at Daytona? Is it easier in an American Beach City? And I think: Yes it is, because Europeans are maybe a little bit more skeptical to talk about their faith in public. But on the other hand there is no difference: God loves the people in Regensburg the same and he is the one who opens hearts and minds for his message. He is preparing people at the moment. I remember one sentence from a sermon 4 weeks ago: The more you trust into the gospel, the more you can see the Power of Jesus in itself. It`s true – I saw last week why I believe in Jesus.